Skip Navigation


BJA Advance Access originally published online on May 12, 2009
British Journal of Anaesthesia 2009 103(1):50-60; doi:10.1093/bja/aep092
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Chinese eTranslation
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
103/1/50    most recent
aep092v1
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Citing Articles
Right arrowScopus Links
Right arrowCiting Articles via CrossRef
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Sear, J. W.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Sear, J. W.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© The Author [2009]. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Board of Directors of the British Journal of Anaesthesia. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournal.org

What makes a molecule an anaesthetic? Studies on the mechanisms of anaesthesia using a physicochemical approach

J. W. Sear*

Nuffield Department of Anaesthetics, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK

* E-mail: john.sear{at}nda.ox.ac.uk

Recent studies of mechanisms of anaesthesia have been mainly ‘target orientated’, investigating the activity of both volatile and i.v. agents at putative sites of action. An alternative approach is one that is ‘ligand orientated’, focusing on the properties of molecules that define their immobilizing ability and secondly define their potency. The use of conventional descriptors (such as non-polar solubility or the octanol–water partition coefficient [Log P]) are limited in their utility as predictors of potency as they represent three-dimensional molecular properties as a one-dimensional parameter. Using different computer-based molecular modelling methods (molecular similarity studies and comparative molecular field analysis [CoMFA]), we have identified the molecular bases of the activity of structurally diverse anaesthetics, such that they can be described as a single model based on the spatial distribution of molecular bulk and electrostatic potential. The same approach can also be used to model other properties of anaesthetic agents, such as cardiovascular depression. The present data suggest that, for the i.v. agents, it may be difficult to separate immobilizing (anaesthetic) activity and cardiovascular depression within a single molecule.

Keywords: anaesthetics i.v.; anaesthetics volatile; comparative molecular field analysis; model, computer simulation; theories of anaesthetic agent action, molecular


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J. Neurosci.Home page
R. N. Mhuircheartaigh, D. Rosenorn-Lanng, R. Wise, S. Jbabdi, R. Rogers, and I. Tracey
Cortical and Subcortical Connectivity Changes during Decreasing Levels of Consciousness in Humans: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study using Propofol
J. Neurosci., July 7, 2010; 30(27): 9095 - 9102.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.